Our research concentrates on the discovery and characterization of marine organismal diversity and comparative studies of novel morphological systems in predatory eukaryotes (i.e., marine invertebrate zoology & protistology). We are fundamentally interested in the diversity and evolution of organisms and organismal traits, particularly features associated with feeding, locomotion and symbiotic interactions. By addressing specific hypotheses about character evolution using molecular phylogenetic methods, we study the key innovations and transformations associated with broad patterns of morphological change. This exploratory approach is motivated by the thrill of discovery, the beautiful and the bizarre, and the yearning to build a more comprehensive framework for understanding the interrelationships of life on Earth. The marine lineages we work on tend to be drop-dead gorgeous (or hideous), and reflect spectacular morphological diversity, such as meiofaunal & planktonic animals, euglenids, dinoflagellates, ciliates, & gregarine apicomplexans.

Click on the links below to learn about the lab's latest contributions to the Tree of Life web project:
(1) 2008 protist diversity workshop, (2) eukaryotes, (3) euglenids, (4) gregarines, (5) ebriids,
(6) Stephanopogon, (7) alveolates, (8) euglenozoans, (9) cryomonads

Discover and characterize new organisms
Improve skills in alpha taxonomy and support new generations of experts
Apply morphological and molecular systematic methods in order to investigate the history
    and diversity of life
Address specific hypotheses about character evolution that help identify key innovations
    associated with the origin and subsequent radiation of diverse clades
Understand major transitions in eukaryotic evolution, particularly macroevolutionary trends
    in cytoskeletal systems involved in locomotion and feeding
Generate computer-based infrastructure for monographic research